


Blown-Out Candles

by thenoodlesaresalty



Category: Lemon Demon Musical Project - Neil Cicierega (Albums), Lifetime Achievement Award - Lemon Demon (Song)
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Loneliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29696166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenoodlesaresalty/pseuds/thenoodlesaresalty
Summary: It's Liam's birthday.
Kudos: 1





	Blown-Out Candles

Liam groans as he waits for the centrifuge to finish its cycle, tapping his fingers rapidly against the cold marble of the counter. His eyes dart from left to right like a dragonfly over a bog. With every single drip of the faucet, Liam can feel his head throb and stab his skull. In a feeble attempt to soothe his brain, he reaches over and turns the travel radio on, tuning it to a random channel. The speakers ooze out soft, classical music, which helps the scientist lower his shoulders and unclench his teeth. He breathes out heavily, feeling as if an elephant was sitting on his chest before this moment. He had never felt as stressed as he is now, and it confuses him to his very core. He sits back down in his office chair, the feeling of excruciating pain slowly fading. The centrifuge finishes, and Liam carefully picks out the test tubes, placing them on the rack, and exiting the area. 

The corridor is obnoxiously bright, causing Liam’s headache to go from irritating to becoming a downright nuisance. Many technicians and scientists flood the halls, all having their own individual conversations and jobs to do. Liam huffs as he focuses on what’s in front of him. A fellow scientist passes him in the hallway. He notices the abnormal bad posture and shaking hands and cocks his eyebrow. He walks towards Liam, placing his hand on a frightened shoulder. “How’s it goin’, Liam?” Waiting for a response, the scientist stuffs his hands into his pockets. “Oh! Did ya hear?” Liam doesn’t move his head, but his eyes drift down to stare. “ _ It’s someone’s birthday today _ .”

With gritted teeth, Liam sarcastically asks, “Oh,  **_really_ ** ?” Liam stares straight ahead, feeling his vision cloud and turn to static. “That’s… useful information, Dr. Yu.”

“Yeah, didn’t say who though,” He waves to a passing lab technician, completely disregarding Liam’s dragging foot and heavy breathing. He slicks back his hair with ease, as if his hands were made of grease. “I think Terrance said something about a  _ surprise _ party,” Elbowing him, Yu chuckles. “You coming? I promised Ticks you’d be there. You know how she feels about promises.”

“Well,” he sighs, “sorry, but I’m not going.”

Yu shakes his head and widens his eyes. “B-but you  _ have _ to go! Terrance’s bringing cupcakes. And I got that  _ exclusive _ soda; kept it in a freezer since ‘78! It’s gonna be  _ so  _ rich in syrups!”

“I’m  **not** going,” He pushes open the door with his back, heading over to the interns in the back of the lab. “You can tell Jeane that she can have my cupcake and tell Bach to back off. I already checked in with the director. I leave at five,” He slams the rack down, scaring the interns half to death. Fixing his gloves, he turns his head to see the clock striking 4:50. 

Yu rushes over to him, knocking into a few of the other members of the lab. “Liam, come on! You love this stuff!” He shuffles around his lab coat’s pockets, pulling out a picture and shoving it into Liam’s face, which annoys him further. “Remember Jeane’s kid’s birthday last month? Everyone was dancing and yelling! You were the life of the party!”

“Keyword there, Tris.  _ Were _ ,” Sliding off his lab coat, he folds it over his arm, adjusting his rolled-up sweater sleeves. “Today’s not for me,” He opens his locker, staring at the small note he wrote for himself, ‘Don’t forget your keys.’ He glares at the upper shelf of his locker, snatching up his car keys and gripping them tightly. Tris slides in front of him, staring up with determined eyes. “Tris,  **_move_ ** , I have places to be.”

The smaller man tries to corral Liam back into the lab, barely being able to push him an inch. “You… are not… leaving until the… party!”

Rolling his eyes, Liam steps out of the way, allowing Tris to fall to the dirt-covered floor. “Give it up; you’re not convincing me to stay.”

Tris jumps to his feet, wiping the dust and grime off from his clothes. Sighing, he places his arms on his hips. “Is there  _ anything _ to make you stay? You seriously gonna ditch Jeane?”

“She can handle herself. I need to go.”

“Fine,” He turns away, huffing and crossing his arms. “See you Monday,” he states, barely turning his head to face him. Liam doesn’t respond back; instead, he rolls his eyes and heads for the exit.

The cold, fall air strikes him as he leaves the building, but Liam doesn’t care. He pulls up his sweater’s collar and burrows his face deep within it. His mind swirls with thoughts and pain, not giving him a break from agony. He presses a button on his keys, and his car’s headlights flash a bit. Running through the parking lot, Liam forgets about the cold air as tears stream down his face and blisters pop up. He throws his lab coat and other belongings onto the floor of the passenger seat, not caring if anything is broken. He plops onto his seat, taking incredibly deep breaths. Angrily, he forcibly wipes the tears away, slamming his hands onto the steering wheel. He grunts as he slams his head on the horn, blasting that aggravating sound throughout the empty lot. Taking a deep breath, Liam stares up, jamming his keys into the ignition. He backs out, feeling his eyes burn and grow heavier with each passing second.

The door swings open, nearly breaking the painting hanging on the wall nearby. Liam stomps in, tossing his things onto the couch next to him. His house is horribly dim, with only a single dangling light illuminating the room. It’s scarily silent, the only sound coming from the wind. Liam, his entire body aching like hell, rolls his eyes and kicks the door closed. Practically dragging on the floor, he approaches a room. He gently moves inside, smiling wide at his pet mice scurrying around their luxurious cages. He won’t admit to anyone, but he spends more on his mice than himself, which leads to him repeating outfits often. “Hello, lil’ ones!” he cheerfully coos, his anger seeping out from his mind. He opens the cage, taking all four tenderly into his hands. They climb all over his shoulders and head, but their little feet tickle Liam, and he goes into a laughing fit. “Were my boys good today?” He carefully grabs one, holding it close to his face. “How were they, Ivan? Did they cause any mischief?” He moves the mouse around like a small toy, and in a high-pitched voice says, “‘No, siree, dad! We were all good today! No escapes or fights!’” Still laughing, he notices one wiggling in his sweater’s collar. “Well, that’s excellent to hear, Sir Ivan Harold Kopinski. Now, who’s ready for some cake?”

He slices four tiny pieces of an already small cake, sliding each one onto a miniature plate. Each mouse gets their own, but some of them abandon theirs for the others’. Liam sits beside them with his own human-sized slice. He sighs as he watches his mouse children enjoy their servings, but, sadly, the headache comes back. He feels his body go limp as he sobs, tears pouring down his face at high velocity. Slouching over, he covers his eyes with the palms of his hands, his entire body shaking. The mice scurry towards him, trying to climb up to his face. With one long sigh, Liam takes the mice into his arms, holding them close to his own body. Kissing each one’s foreheads, he places them back into their cage. “Goodnight, boys. Sleep well,” He fully stands, brushing the dirt off his pants. Placing his finger on the light switch, he looks back to his mice and smiles wide, tears still dripping off his face.

“Happy birthday, Liam.”


End file.
